


Temperance

by NargleAdvocate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, M/M, Swearing, Wicca, Witchcraft, i apologize if i didn't accurately represent items, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 10:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11079333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NargleAdvocate/pseuds/NargleAdvocate
Summary: Harry shuffled the deck, closing his eyes and waiting for the right time to stop his movements. He could hear the busy street outside of his apartment and could smell the leftover smoke from the candle he had used moments before to charge his cards. He shuffled until he could feel a shift in the air around him, and then spread the cards out, faced down.His hand glided over each card, the old paper feeling rough against his skin. His eyes jolted open as his hand hovered over one card he hadn’t even touched. There was energy coming off of it in waves. He picked the card up and flipped it over, preparing himself for the worst, just like all of his other cards had been over the past month-Temperance. The meeting of a perfect love who would change him forever.That was a little more hopeful than he had been asking for.





	Temperance

Harry Potter sighed as he stared up at the rusted sign looming above him, nearly covered with moss and swinging in the wind. He could feel his hands tingle, and whether that was from the wind or the ambience surrounding the building in front of him, he couldn’t decipher. He could hear the murmurs and footsteps of people inside, and could not help himself as he tucked a hand inside his pocket, gripping at a moonstone he kept hidden there. After a minute or so, he could feel it warming beneath his palm. He only needed to get some lavender, camomile, and mullein; he could do this. With that in mind, he withdrew his hand and opened the door to the herb shop.

The overwhelming smell of herbs hit him instantly. With slight desperation, he glanced around the shop, unfamiliar with his surroundings. He could feel his body curl in on itself as the realization that is was exclusively women in the shop creeped up on him. With a frantic jolt, he spotted camomile on the opposite side of the room. He moved as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself. Observing the flower carefully, he couldn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching behind him, or of the person introducing themself. The only thing that drew him from his focus was a tap on the shoulder, which he would swear almost made him jump out of his skin as he turned towards the intrusion.

In front of him was a young man with the most dazzling blonde hair he had ever seen, almost as if sunlight was weaved into each strand on his head. Harry stared, eyes wide, for longer than was socially appropriate, before blinking and ducking his head. He could feel the heat rise onto his cheeks as he looked up to the man, who was now raising his eyebrow in amusement. “I’ve never seen another man in this shop before, so I had to come introduce myself. Draco Malfoy, assistant manager.”

“H-Hello, I’m Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you,” Harry replied, trying not to ogle at Draco’s eyes. They were a dazzling shade of grey, and they reminded him of storm clouds, juxtaposed against his hair. With shaky hands, he turned away and grabbed the package of camomile he had been eyeing moments before, getting ready to excuse himself when Draco spoke.

“Is that a tarot card deck sticking out of your bag?”

Harry froze before his eyes slowly traveled down to the deck sticking out of his satchel’s pocket. Shit. He was about to be screamed at by a man he did not know in the middle of an innocent not inherently witchcraft shop about how much of a sin he was committing, and it was going to draw a scene. Maybe it wouldn’t be too late to leave…

“Because I’ve been wondering for a while where to get a good deck, but I haven’t been able to find anyone to recommend me any since I moved here! Maybe it’s because I prefer potions, but I haven’t really been able to connect with any of the decks I’ve gotten online. Maybe you could tell me where you got yours?” Harry looked up, shocked when met with an overwhelming amount of hope in Draco’s eyes.

“Uhm… Well, this deck is from my grandmother, and I’m not sure where she got them from, but I have other decks at home and could recommend you some good online stores. There are a lot out there, and the designs can get pretty extravagant. It does take a while to get connected with a good deck though,” Harry rambled, leaning forward, a tentative smile on his face. He never got to talk about his grandmother much, so it was a nice change.

“Here.” Draco dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small sheet of paper. “It’s my number. Text me, and we can talk about tarot cards. Or potions, because I am highly skilled in those.” He stuck his nose slightly in the air, a smirk on his face. He held the paper out for Harry to grab. Harry considered what he was getting himself into for a moment, before reaching out and grasping the paper in the same hand as the camomile. He smiled nervously at Draco before tucking it into the same pocket that held the tarot cards. That way he wouldn’t forget what it was for.

“Now, I have to go back to tending to the old women over in that corner,” Draco commented, pointing his finger at a group of women dressed in what Harry would call middle age mom fashion. “But, I do expect a text from you within the next two days, otherwise I’ll have to put a hex on you.” The grin on his face showed he was joking, but only partially. Harry decided to take the threat seriously.

With that, Draco had disappeared from Harry’s line of sight, leaving him gaping at empty air. He resisted the urge to bang his head against the shelf next to him, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into. In the back of his mind, a part of him wondered if this was what the cards had alluded to the previous day. The meeting of a perfect love who would bring him a fresh outlook on life.

“No, there’s no way, did you see that smirk? No way,” Harry whispered to himself before taking a deep breath and searching the shop once more. He still needed to get the rest of the herbs, and after all, he could always run into Draco again.

…Wait, was that a gemini constellation Draco had tattooed on his neck? Harry’s mind flashed to the cards again, and felt his legs get weak and the room get hotter. Fucking magical deities and their stupid matchmaking.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you could, please leave feedback, this is my first fanfic. Hopefully I represented witchcraft okay.


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